0A8C2485-92EA-4FB4-8FD6-04FE9BCFDF73

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ID0A8C2485-92EA-4FB4-8FD6-04FE9BCFDF73
TitlecodeR00375
Title NameChimera
Marketing Copy(not set)
Instrumentation2+Piccolo.3(1d English Horn).2+Bass Clarinet.2+ContraBassoon: 4.3.3.1: Timpani.Percussion(4).Piano(d Celesta).Harp: Strings
Commission(not set)
Dedication(not set)
Program NotesA Chimera is a Greek mythological figure most often represented as having a lion's head, goat's body, and dragon's tail. By extension, the word has become synonymous with any fantastic combination of disparate elements or illusory fabrications of the mind. It sparks the imagination to place several familiar ideas in new contexts. This three movement work for large orchestra utilizes strongly contrasting, seemingly unrelated musical and formal ideas to gain tension from their juxtaposition, along with power and freshness from their synthesis. Some of the more noticeable contrasting ideas that appear throughout are melodically open consonances against chromatic dissonances, lyricism against obscuring interjections, and rhythms and textures influenced by jazz against a wider chromatic setting.

Chimera's three movements employ a single underlying group of melodic and harmonic material. As the piece progresses, established ideas continually appear against new backgrounds and textures, often radically compressed or dilated in time, shifting in focus from foreground in one spot to background in another. As their environment changes, so also does their own nature. --Jeffery Hass
Title Brand2
Year Composed1989
Copyright Number(not set)
Copyright Year(not set)
Duration13
Ensemble Size(not set)
Date Created2008-10-31 20:31:21.000000
Date Updated2025-09-30 20:31:21
Inhouse Note(not set)
Bsc Code(not set)
Text Author(not set)
Premier Performance Memo-World Premiere. The Louisville Orchestra. 15 Sep 89.
Recording Credits(not set)
Review"...equally as startling and captivating to hear as gazing upon such a fanciful creature [a mythological creature with a lion's head, goat's body and dragon's tail]. It has layers of textures and ideas that pull against each other, yet work together, a juicy melody in the slow second section and wild coda at the conclusion. <BR>Chimera is so intelligently constructed, so clean and crisp, and so easy to listen to that it fairly takes the breath away." <BR>--Judi Hazlett, Tribune Star
Awards(not set)
Title Category7
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Title Instrument Category TextFull Orchestra
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Title Sub Category31
Title Instrument Header41
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Clean Urlchimera-r00375